adminBongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
AWARD winning dance ensemble Iyasa are in Swaziland for the annual Reed Dance that began there yesterday and ends on Thursday next week. At the function, Swazi King Mswati III will choose his 15th wife after he married a 19-year-old last year. About 80,000 bare-breasted virgin girls are expected to parade in front of the king before he chooses his wife.
The group left Bulawayo on Thursday evening and arrived in the capital Mbabane yesterday for the function at the Royal Palace. Iyasa was invited to be part of the entertainment line-up at the event.
This is the second time the group is attending the umhlanga dance after it travelled to Swaziland in 2011 with group leader Nkululeko Dube.
“This is a perfect opportunity for us to showcase the rich culture we’ve in Zimbabwe to our neighbours and the many visitors at the event. We’re glad to be part of this prestigious event again,” said Dube.
He said the visit would also strengthen their relations with other dance groups in Swaziland.
“We shall strengthen the present relations we’ve with other groups there. We’ll learn their dances which are similar to ours here and also teach them other dances,” said Dube.
Umhlanga was established in Swaziland in the 1940s under the rule of King Sobhuza II. He adapted the ceremony of the festival from the umcwasho ceremony that is another old cultural practice in Swaziland. Only maidens, who have reached the age of marriage and preserved their chastity, participate in the Reed Dance ceremony.
Online Reporter